Research sprint participants explore digital transformation in time of crisis with focus on education

The Berkman Klein Center recently kicked off a ten-week “Research Sprint” with a global cohort of students participating from 21 different countries spread over 5 continents, under a project led by the Global Network of Internet & Society Centers (NoC) on the Ethics of Digitalization. The project advances dialogue and action at the intersection of science, politics, digital economy, and civil society broadly. The Research Sprint hosted by BKC explores specific questions around the disruption, challenges, and opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic represents in the realm of education. This Research Sprint is one in a series that will take place over the next year and follows a first Sprint hosted by Berlin’s Humboldt Institute on platform governance. The project has the German Federal President as patron and is supported by Stiftung Mercator. 

The Research Sprint examines the ethical, human rights, and societal aspects of digital transformation with an emphasis on education and learning at a moment of unprecedented crisis, when both young people and adult learners around the globe are deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. When it comes to access to education —  both in terms of educational resources and learning spaces — such as schools, campuses, museums, studios, clubhouses, afterschool, and maker-spaces, participants will examine unforeseen economic, social, and political challenges and consequences, as well as explore opportunities for flourishing and well-being by considering the ethical implications of digital technologies. 

Participants will work collaboratively with peers and experts from around the globe to produce a map of the relevant issues and ethical questions that policy-makers in different contexts need to address in order to harness the benefits of digital technologies while avoiding some of the possible downsides during current crises — and as we collectively prepare better for the next crisis. 

The Research Sprint is one program out of many that the Berkman Klein Center hosts to engage and train students as co-designers and leaders exploring the impact of digital technologies. Other programs at the Center that also embody our interdisciplinary educational efforts include the Assembly Program, Summer Institute, and the Youth and Media Project.

BKC is proud to announce and recognize our participants, including 39 graduate students from over twenty countries.  

Participants

Hamdalat Alabi 
Affiliation: Master of Science in Information Technology / Carnegie Mellon University Africa
 

Valerie Albrecht
Affiliation: Junior researcher at the Department Department for E-Governance and Administration, Danube University Krems
Area of research: The use of data and new technologies in the public sector and in digital strategies.

Mudasir Amin
PhD student, Social Work , Jamia Millia Islamia
Area of research: Politics of humanitarian aid and NGOs in Kashmir
 

Sara Bubenik
Affiliation: PhD Candidate, Sociology, Boston University
Area of research: Social support practices in digital spaces

Daniel Calarco de Oliveira
Affiliation: President - International Youth Watch
Area of research: Law - Human Rights and Public Policy

Bernardo Caycedo
Affiliation: Adjunct Lecturer at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and Researcher at Centro de Internet y Sociedad de la Universidad del Rosario (ISUR)
Area of research: Social and Political Philosophy

Sidharth Chauhan
Affiliation: LL.M. Candidate at Harvard Law School; Research Assistant to Professor Urs Gasser.
Area of research: Law and technology; digital ethics

Phoebe Chua
Affiliation: Ph.D. Candidate in Informatics at the University of California, Irvine and Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University
Area of research: Social class inequality in elite hiring practices

Tomas Dodds
Affiliation: Lecturer in New Media & Digital Culture at the University of Amsterdam and PhD researcher in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leiden.
Area of research: Cultural anthropology, data journalism, new media

Elora Raad Fernandes
Affiliation: PhD student in Law at the Rio de Janeiro State University
Area of research: Children's data protection

Martin Fertmann
Affiliation: Ph.D. Fellow, Research Program “Law and Legal Education in Digital Transformation”, Center for Law in Digital Transformation, University of Hamburg / Junior Researcher, Leibniz-Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI)
Area of research: Procedural requirements for private content moderation under international law

Dilrukshi Gamage
Affiliation: Research Scholar, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Moratuwa; Higher Education Lead, Diversity COllective Lanka
Area of research: Human Computer Interaction - Life long learning, Digital communities , learning at scale

Sakshi Ghai
Affiliation: PhD student, University of Cambridge
Area of research: Digital empowerment in the Global South

Tomasz Hollanek 
Affiliation: PhD Candidate, University of Cambridge
Area of research: Design theory and ethics

Milan Ismangil
Affiliation: PhD Researcher at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Area of research: Nationalism, China, Ideology

Catherine Keegan
Affiliation: MSc Global Governance and Ethics, University College London
Area of research: Digital governance and ethics

Daum Kim
Affiliation: Ph.D. Candidate, Keio University | Digital Media Manager at the Tokyo Olympics Organising Committee | Executive Director of Ethnic Neighborhoods
Area of Research: Interaction and trust on digital media platforms

Swathi Krishnaraja
Affiliation: Master's Student at Universität des Saarlandes | Researcher at Weizenbaum Institute for Networked Society
Area of research: Human-centered design approaches to Fair and Responsible AI

Benedict Lang
Affiliation: Junior Researcher ETHOS Lab, ITU Copenhagen
Area of research: STS / Responsibility in Engineering, Science and Technology

Enze Liu
Affiliation: Ph.D. student at Fudan University
Area of research: Communications Studies

Fang-ying Riva Lo
Affiliation: Lecturer, Center for General Education, Asia University, Taiwan / Doctoral student, Department of Digital Media Design, Asia University
Area of research: Technology-enhanced language learning

Sharu Luo
Affiliation: Graduate Student/National Tsing Hua University Institute of Law for Science and Technology
Area of research: AI Governance, Regulation of Emerging/Disruptive Technologies

Maya Malik
Affiliation: PhD Student, McGill University School of Social Work
Area of research: Arts-based, participatory program design and evaluation with marginalized youth, critical digital making, combatting anti-blackness with arts-based methods

Sri Ranjani Mukundan
Affiliation: Masters in Public Policy Candidate (2019-21), NUS Singapore
Area of research: Gender economics, especially in developing countries

 Arnel F. Murga 
Affiliation: Education Governance Assistant Program Officer at The Asia Foundation
 

Musa Ndahi
Affiliation: Field Officer - Community Based Food Security Program. Musa is currently a Masters Candidate at Nasarawa State University, Keffi-Nigeria studying MSc. Agricultural Extension and Communication.
Area of research: Rural Sociology

Sarah Nizamani
Affiliation: Research Fellow - Institute of Business Administration, Karachi
Area of research: Development Economics

David Otoo-Arthur
Affiliation: PhD Computer Science candidate at University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Teacher Educator, Presbyterian Women's College of Education, Aburi Ghana.
Area of research: Application of Machine Learning techniques to modelling students’ behaviour in Smart Learning Systems

Sachini Perera 
Affiliation: MA in Digital Culture and Society, King's College London
Area of research: I have just completed an MA dissertation on Platform Intermediation of Sri Lanka's Covid-19 Response

Atandra Ray

Affiliation: Master's student in the field of International Security Studies at Charles University in Prague.
Area of research: Disinformation and Propaganda Narratives in the Cyber Realm  

Alexis Shore
Affiliation: PhD student in Emerging Media Studies at Boston University and Policy Consultant for the Future of Privacy Forum's Youth & Education Team
Area of research: Surveillance Effects of Emerging Media

Vince Straub
Affiliation: Research Assistant, Oxford Internet Institute
Area of research: Law and technology; digital ethics.

Sadaf Taimur
Affiliation: PhD Student at Graduate Program in Sustainability Science, Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), The University of Tokyo, Japan
Area of research: Sustainability Education - Using Transformative Learning Approach to Reform Pedagogies in Sustainability Education

Santiago Uribe
Affiliation: Research Assistant. Nordic Centre for Internet and Society. BI-Norwegian Business School.
Area of research: Algorithmic accountability. AI and Society. Social impacts of digital transformations.

Laura Garcia Vargas
Affiliation: PhD in Law candidate at the University of Ottawa Centre for Law, Technology and Society
Area of research: Privacy impact of technologies with location capabilities

Clara Wang
Affiliation: Yenching Scholar at Peking University
Area of research: Economic Development, Education, and Technology in China.

Janis Wong
Affiliation: PhD Researcher in Computer Science at the University of St Andrews and Research Fellow at the Open Data Institute
Area of research: Legal and technological applications in data protection, privacy, and data ethics

Jingyi Yu
Affiliation: Ph.D. candidate at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University
Area of research: Sino-US relations, Polarization in US politics, Digital media and communication in elections, Global governance in non-traditional security areas.